New school is off to a great start

BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE INTERNATIONAL, ACCRA EAST

FOURTH QUARTER REPORTS

Courses taken

The fourth quarter started on the 1st October 2022 and ends on Saturday 31st December, 2022. The courses taken within these periods were four:

•    The Life of Christ:

o    Galilean Ministry

o    Judea Ministry

•    The New Testament Church 1 (One True Church)

•    Godhead

Report on the students

In The fourth quarter because it was getting to the close of the year some of the students  busy in their businesses others used to travel a lot during the week ends. This as a result affected our classes. It reduced the average attendance from twelve (12) in the third quarter to eleven (11) in the fourth quarter. However, the zeal and commitment was still high. The students were so much committed, even suggested to me that we should use Republic Holidays for classes to cover the day they were absence. The decision on this has not been taken yet.

House to House Evangelism

Bear Valley, Accra East students are using Gomoa Asebu church of Christ for rehearsals. In every week at least one student is sent to Gomoa Asebu to go and help the church in their worship and house to house evangelism. The Gomoa Asebu church was planted by Nmai Djorn church of Christ and was supported by the students of Bear Valley, Accra East. Mostly the evangelism team is dominated by the Bear Valley students.

On 1st- 2nd October 2022 I sent the students to Santor in the Greater Accra for house to house evangelism and worship. They also visited and talked to the members who were not regular at church service.  Santor church was also planted by Nmai Djorn church on 18th February, 2018.

As part of Gomoa Asebu evangelism, Nmai Djorn church in collaboration with Bear Valley, Accra East presented the used clothes to the church at Gomoa Asebu.  The clothes are from local and some also from one of our church sisters who is in USA.

In addition to the used clothes, the church also did fruit fellowship. Though it was a fruit fellowship however, one of the members brought Fufu, one of the staple foods in Ghana for the fellowship. She said Fufu is her fruit.  This also brought joy in the church. One of the students who was sent to Asebu on that day was Benjamin Forson, enjoyed the fellowship.

Lectureship

On December 04, 2022, Nmai Djorn and Santor churches in collaboration with Bear Valley students organized a lectureship. The theme of the lectureship was “the significance of church planting” and “why should I support evangelism with my money”. The occasion was also used to raise funds to support our missionary work, particularly that of Gomoa Central (Gomoa Asebu-Pomadze).

Feasibilities Report- in the Town where our new church is to be planted this year

Concerning the new church to be planted this year by Bear Valley Accra East, I and one of the students, Danial Nkansah carried out the feasibility studies in December, 2022. The town chosen is Gomoa Pomadze, in the Central Region. (Gomoa Pomadze is under the Gomoa Central District). The community is a twin community, i.e. Gomoa Asebu-Pomadze.

In our studies we discovered that the people of Gomoa are the largest indigenous Fante groups in the Central Region of Ghana. Their communities are divided into three districts, Gomoa Central, Gomoa East, and Gomoa West. They have many communities with vast lands, but sadly many of their communities are growing without church of Christ.

Gomoa Pomadze has developed into a complete town with many significant places, such as Universities, private schools, hospitals, police post, uninterrupted water and electricity supply. Indeed it is a very beautiful community located at a junction. Considering its rapid development, it is clear that in future it is going to be a commercial town/city.  Since we also have a church at Gomoa Asebu a twin community of Pomadze we are very familiar with the place.

With their religious background - we saw in our studies that there are many churches such as Pentecostals, Charismatics, Methodist, SDA, Jehovah’s Witnesses. Others are Christ Apostolic church, Assemblies of God, and “one man” churches all have fully established in those communities. (Pentecost alone has five (5) churches, Methodist has four (4) churches, SDA  has one church, and Jehovah 1 etc.

Ethnic groupings and language spoken- In our studies we saw that the people of Pomadze are indigenous Fante group. They are 100% Akans speaking community.

Business in the community- We discovered that some are petty traders, self-employers (provision stores) mobile money operators and salary workers. 40% of the people in the community are farmers. This means that at any point in time some are in the town and can respond to our gospel call.

The Road Network - The town has link roads to major towns and cities within Ghana such as Swedru, Winneba, Mankesim-Cape Coast and Accra.

We are looking for a temporal place of meeting. The meeting place will determine the date in which the church we will be started. The feasibility studies reports and expenses that will be involved in planting of Bear Valley, Accra East first church are yet to be presented to the Coordinator, Mr. Kojo Acquah.  Concerning the meeting place I will update the Coordinator, Mr. Acquah as soon as the temporary place of meeting is acquired.

The Projections

1.    I have planned to work hard so that more students will be enrolled as students of Bear Valley to acquire training to be able to conform into the image of Christ. Also to help defend, advance and uphold the true gospel of Christ.

2.    I have designed a program on how the two of the churches I have planted particularly (Nmai Djorn church of Christ and Santor church of Christ, in the Greater Accra) will organize a joint worship once a year to raise fund to support the Gomoa Central missionary work (especially to be able to provide T&T for the students of Bear Valley, Accra East whom I sent every week).

3.    It is my planned that if God gives me life I will ensure that church of Christ will be planted in all the fifteen communities across Winneba and Swedru road (in the Gomoa Central).

New school in Nigeria is off to a great start

BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE NIGERIA, OWERRI CENTER REPORT 

Bear valley bible institute, Owerri  imo state was inaugurated on Saturday 1st of October 2022.

Classes began on 8th of October 2022 .

The school started with 22 students that passed the entrance examination,  among the students are 2 serving elders, 2 medical doctors,  2 academic doctors.

Presently we have 14 regular students, 6 students left to continue their education in the university while 2 left because of work transfer.

So far we have taken 3 courses and the students are doing well.

During the entrance examination a 12 year old boy walked in and requested to take the exam, after interviewing him we decided to allow him take the exam and surprisingly he scored over 75%. We decided to allow him to come for lectures to avoid discouraging and dampening his spirit.

EVANGELISM 

Our first students outreach was supposed to be held in partnership with the church at Obosima on the 17th of December but was cancelled due to security reasons as there was sporadic shooting from midnight till late morning in Owerri. It is rescheduled to hold sometime in January 2023.

Also we have observed that most preachers here are not properly trained thereby creating some doctrinal issues here and there. This has posed a certain level of challenge which we must surmount,  I was privileged to speak to a gathering of some preachers in imo state on the challenges facing the church and how to protect the church from destructive teachings. They agreed to partner with the school to organize workshops,  seminars, and lectureships to tackle some of the issues that are threatening the sanctity and unity of the church.

NEW STUDENTS 

We are hoping to have 11 new students by January if they all pass the entrance examination. 

We are grateful to the parent body and the school authorities for giving us the privilege of having a study center in imo state,  

Imo is big, through the awareness of what we are doing is growing! We have several people interested in studying with but are far from us.  I trust God will make a way for all who are interested to benefit from the school. 

Even though we are just starting,  we promise to maintain a high standard  and surely we will make the school proud.

Yours because of Christ 

Chinedu Akandu 

Director

A new congregation in Ghana

BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE – PAPAASE (KASOA, GHANA)

REPORT FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER (OCTOBER TO DECEMBER) 2022

Gracefully our Lord God through His Son Jesus Christ have taken us through the year 2022 and ushered us into the New Year 2023. The hard working teaching staff and their students the Bear Valley Bible Institute-Papase (Kasoa-Ghana) would like to review our performance in the just ended quarter.

As usual we cannot do that without our profound gratitude to our sponsors. It is our heart desires Lord God and prayers that the Almighty God to continue to replenish bountifully.

I.            PLANTING OF CHURCH

During the month of October last year, the student body with the director did visibility and survey studies a town known as Mankomeba (few minute drive from Papaae), we are glad to inform our readers that the ground is fertile for planting the Lord’s church in the township. 

Brother Daniel Kwadwo Nkrumah who will be graduating hopefully in March, is likely to be the preacher for the newly yet to be planted Lord’s church. Daniel lives in the town with his family. Besides, there are few Christians residing in the town. House to house evangelism is already under way in the township. We are of great hope that souls will be won into the Lord’s kingdom.

Our budget is ready submitted to the Bear Valley authorities.  Currently, we waiting to hear favourable from the authority than in March we kick the ground running.  

II.            CAMPAIGN FOR NEW STUDENTS

The last quarter of the year, sew the school involiving in house to house evangelism at Mankomeba. Besides, students did visit sister churches campaigning for new students.

III.            OFFICE EQUIPMENT

Our office at the school is furnished with a laptop and a printer of which we are grateful. However, we lack writing desk and chairs in the office. Probably, a fan or an air conditioner will be of great benefit to the school and the office.  

IV.            DISTINGUISH STUDENT

Our distinguish student for the quarter is Brother Raymond Brakor. The hard working student is also a leading member of the Lord’s church at Papaase. Below are the pictures indicating Brother Brakor and his wife.

Students preach and teach to help local congregations in Togo

OPERATING REPORT  BEAR  VALLEY  INSTITUTE  KARA – TOGO (FOURTH  QUARTER 2022)

 INTRODUCTION

My family and the churches of Christ in the north of Togo send you their Greetings. We are so thankful for your love and your desire to help us fulfill the Great Commission here in the North of Togo. We continue to pray for you.  May God give you great wisdom, a lot of patience in this mission of salvation of souls  around the world.

OPERATING  REPORT

• Actual number of Students : 10

• The Courses already taught during the second quarter : Exodus and Levitique by Kagnon Luc – Church Planting by Rodrigue – The Church of the Bible by Fidele.

• The Courses that will be taught during the first quarter 2023 :

• Biblical Introduction  by KPODENOU  Rodrigue

• Ezra  to Esther  by KAGNON  Luc

• Hebrews  by BEDJELSI  Fidele

Worship  and  edification :

Students continue to help by worshiping with the local congregations. These Students are helping me a lot and this allows me to plan my time to help each local church in the completion of their program. Each congregation has a program for door-to-door evangelism. People have a hard heart and do not want to convert but we always continue to talk to them and also pray for them. 

We have particularly applied for the help of the Kpalime Training Center for Kara’s local church . The brethren of Kpalime came to help for door-to-door work. At the end, in a very good atmosphere, we baptized a woman and a man. With the efforts of some of our  students, we also baptized a man for Kara local church and a woman for Tchitchao local church. The evangelization campaigns to help local churches are a source of motivation for brothers and sisters from local churches.

Campaigns : We have organized up from October to December  two campaigns to help the local churches of Lassa and Tchintchinda.  All those campaigns are very important to build step by step local congregations.

Practical work with Students : Once a month we organize this work with students to allow them to be in teachers in local congregations to practice theoretically.

Yearly  Camp : This end-of-year Camp should be done in Kouka but it did not take place. Finally all efforts have been made to organize this Camp in Kara with a participation of about 70 people. The general Topic were: « Spiritual disciplines, spiritual release sources. » 

We seize this favorable opportunity to wish you our best wishes of health, longevity. God bless you. May God  protect you  all during the year 2023.

In Christ, 

 Fidele.

New school in Ghana is excelling!

BEAR VALLEY, CAPE COAST

REPORT FOR FOURTH QUARTER OF THE YEAR

DECEMBER 2022

PREAMBLE

Halleluyah, halleluya, halleluyah!!!  By the grace of the almighty God, the Bear Valley Bible Institute center in Cape Coast has successfully completed one calendar year. We are so thankful to the Lord almighty for guiding us to achieve such a feat.

OVERVIEW

The Cape Coast Study Center has been doing very well as it keeps attracting interest and attention of the people of the central region. Brethren from all around the region keep calling to make inquiries about our programs and activities.

This is largely due to the high level of scholarly work of the lecturers and the testimony of transformation seen in our students. The school is fast gaining popularity with very sound Christian doctrine at the heart of everything we do here.

The school is now blessed with a student population of 27, with Bro VICTOR EKOW WILLIAMS joining us as a transfer student from the Kasoa study center at the beginning of November.

The school went on recess after the third weekend in December. Since the school went on recess five prospected candidates have contacted the school to being lessons with us when the school reopens in January. If all of them make it to school, it will bring our numbers to a total of 32 students by January next year. 

During the year, we were privileged to have been visited by the ever involving Bro Steven Ashcraft, Bro Kojo Acquah (the Ghana Coordinator) and also Bro Keith Kasarjian, who is the International Coordinator of the Bear Valley Schools. The school has been doing very well with constant support from our sponsors who have shown more than just a desire for students and lecturers alike to get the very best of biblical knowledge to go out there and make fishers of men.

SUPPLY OF RESOURCES

The school received some materials from our Coordinator, Bro Kojo. They were very helpful as we found it easier in preparing to embark on a house to house evangelism. We would be much grateful to more supplies of the Preacher’s Box in the future. The new students who keep on joining the school find the school very attractive as they are fascinated with the quality of teaching materials and classroom supplies available. Bear Valley Cape Coast is surely the place to be when it comes to acquisition of Bible Knowledge.

COURSES

At the end of the December, the fourth quarter of the year, we have successfully completed eleven courses. These are: HOW WE GOT THE BIBLE, THE BOOK OF ACTS, RESEARCH METHODOLOGY & WRITING, HERMENEUTICS, COST OF DISCIPLESHIP AND THE BOOK OF GALATIANS. THE OTHERS ARE 1 &2 CORINTHIANS, OLD TESTAMENT (GEN - DEUT), PERSONAL EVANGELISM, AND SCHEME OF REDEMPTION.

We have been able to get this far because of our unique strategy of meeting even when it is a holiday and not necessarily a school day. Students are currently at home reading on the book of Romans as we hope to commence the next school session with it.

PROJECTIONS FOR NEXT YEAR

As a school we have strategized and agreed on some evangelistic missions next year. We want to start off in March where we hope to collaborate with our host church to organize a one week community broadcast in the catchment areas of the school. This area comprises about five adjourning communities and suburbs.

 The next plan will be to go into a rural community where there is no church established there to campaign and evangelize such a community. We have tasked ourselves to take care of such a church when it is established so that we can nurture its growth into a matured community of believers.

It is our hope that our benefactors will make available both financial and material resources for such exercises when the time comes, because these exercises has to be sustained until a total growth is realized. Already the school/class has elected two people from amongst them to be in charge of the new church that will be established and it gladdens my heart the seriousness these students put into it.

Souls being reached in Philippines

Before this year ends, allow me to express my heartfelt gratitude for your unending love, prayers    and support for Lord’s work that BVBI Philippines-Luzon continue to accomplish. In spite of the many challenges we have gone through this year, still thankful to God that we were able to surpassed these challenges and keep the mission work moving in reaching out the lost, edifying and strengthening the weak brethren and training more gospel preachers on this side.

We are so grateful for the success of the two-day Annual Lectureship and Gospel Meeting that was held last September 9-10 hosted by the Ilagan church of Christ in cooperation with Bear Valley Bible Institute. We are blessed for the visit and presence of Brother Mark Reynolds as our guest speaker for this said event. Our BVBI students and teachers are so glad for this lectureship and happy to meet brother Mark. The leadership of Ilagan is looking forward to do this every year in order to strengthen and help the brethren grow in their knowledge in the word of God and opportunity as well to promote the school. We also have a successful gospel meeting in the evening. This is to give opportunity for non-members to come and hear the gospel preached in the first night and concluded with the scheme of redemption in the last night.  

Our students also participated in the door knocking campaign that was conducted in Guibang last December 10. As part of their training in the field, they distributed religious materials and talk to people by doing religious survey in order to find interested prospects for Bible studies. We concluded this year’s class with our Homiletics subject. Our students delivered their sermons as their final requirement to passed the said subject.

We also rejoiced for the humble heart of Renz and Mariel, who have surrendered their lives with the Lord through the watery grave of baptism. They were being immersed by brother Anthony one of our BVBI teachers. They are now under the care of the Ilagan church of Christ. Kindly pray for their continued spiritual growth and maturity.

Once again, thank you so much for working with us in the Lord’s mission in the Philippines and for keeping us always in your thoughts and prayers. May this coming year will be another year of prosperity and progress as we continue to train more gospel preachers, bring the good tidings to the lost and bear more fruits in the Lord’s Kingdom.

Happy Holidays, wishing you a Prosperous, a Blessed and a Fruitful Year Ahead!

Baldomero Lagua Jr.

BVBI Philippines-Luzon

Director

Exciting plans in Accra

ACCRA

December Report, 2022

To God once again be the glory and honor for a successful end of the month. Below is a summarized report on school activities in the month of December

Academic Activities

All academic activities were concluded to bring the term to a close. Students have departed to their respective destinations safely.

School Building

As reported last month, the school building project is in good progress. Workers are currently laying rods for decking. The hope is that they complete this by the end of the year as stated in earlier reports.

Next Year Plan

The academic board met for a discussion on plans for the coming year, 2023. The following activities were discussed and agreed upon:

·         Lectureship to educate past students on contemporary issues – June 2023

·         Forming of Campaign Team to spearhead the school’s campaign programmes

·         Graduation Ceremony – March 25, 2023.

Dates for these activities are tentative and subject to review in the next staff meeting.

Social Media Evangelism

We give much glory to God that students, both past and current, are actively utilizing the social media platforms such as WhatsApp and YouTube for evangelism in the form of texts, audio, and video. We pray to God to grant such brethren more strength to continue the good work and inspire others to emulate them.

We also have our brother Benjamin Forson who has been doing well evangelizing on social media to draw attention to “women pastors who are not to publicly lead” who have their own establish-movement.

We really appreciate his effort as a student in teaching the word through this media.

Student Profile

We are grateful to introduce our brother and student Silas Agyei who has been a faithful brother and an evangelist for a couple of years. He started school with us in January 2022. He is a young man of 29 years and single. His parents are believers and an evangelist at Medie church of Christ. The members of this congregation are 37. Silas has been very helpful and active in all school activities and evangelism. Mostly, he reads the local Bible for the preachers during public preaching. Academically, he has been doing well.

We admire our brother as he endeavors to work hard in teaching and exhorting the church, and in all aspects of services.

It is our prayer that God gives him the strength to do more in His vineyard.

Acknowledgment

We thank God so much for a peaceful month and term. We also express our gratitude to the management of the Bear Valley Bible Institute USA for their support both physically and spiritually. We glorify God because of the efforts of all the members of the staff and pray that God keeps blessing them. We also thank God for local brethren who also contributed to the development of our dear college. May God bless us all, Amen.

These are updates for the month. We request that you keep praying with us.

We are grateful and appreciate your effort and the brethren in Ghana for their marvelous contribution and prayers.

God bless you all.

Reported by: E.O. Larbi

A new school in Nigeria

The Church of Christ has been in existence in the ancient city of Benin Kingdom for about six decades now without a formal training school for preachers and workers. Efforts by frontline preachers in the past to establish a preaching school in this city failed. Thus, we have had lots of preachers with little or no formal training. The few trained ones had their training in distant places like Jos in Plateau State, Akwa Ibom State, and Abeokuta in Ogun State.

It pleases God almighty that at this time we should have, (according to most students and instructors), “a preaching school on a platter of gold”. This was made possible by Brother Keith Kasarjian who has sacrificed and endangered his life for the cause of Jesus Christ and His kingdom. Brother Kasarjian paid a visit to Benin City on August 11, 2022, against all odds. He planned to spend a reasonable amount of time with us to get to know us but that time was reduced due to some technical difficulties at the airport. Despite the challenges, Brother Kasarjian pushed through and came to Benin City where he met with the leadership of the Church of Christ, Ezoti, at 12, Ezoti Lane, Off Ezoti Street, Airport Road, Benin City, Edo State. He gave us orientation about Bear Valley Bible Institute International and the possibility of establishing a study centre in Benin City. This proposal was greeted with much excitement.

After about one month of Kasarjian’s visit, we received the good news that approval has been granted for Benin City to have a study centre. We advertised and brethren in Benin City and environs, who had long anticipated such an opportunity applied and within a month we got over seventy prospective students. This number was, however, reduced to fifty-six after the entrance examination as some could not meet the cut-off mark.

The inauguration was done on October 3, 2022.

Lectures commenced on October 8, 2022, with all fifty-six students in a classroom. Approval was given for the number to be divided into two separate classes (A and B) for healthy classrooms in the same location due to the availability of facilities and the strategic location of Ezoti Congregation (which is situated at the centre of Benin City)

The following courses have been taught: Old Testament 1 (Genesis), to the general class of fifty-six students in October, by Andrew Osatohamwen, Everistus Nne taught Bible Origin (How we got the Bible) to class B while Dunia Christopher taught Evangelism 1 to Class A in November. In December Osatohamwen took class A on How we got the Bible while Dunia taught Evangelism 1 to class B. Examinations have been conducted on all these courses.

The national coordinator, Brother Makinde Olufemi Eben visited us on October 22, 2022. His visit was inspiring as he took his time to furnish all the students and the instructors with the requisite information and humbly answer all the questions from the students.

Future Plans

On evangelism, the first outing of the school is scheduled for December 31, 2022. The school shall be preaching in Utagban community with a young congregation made up of three families. We hope that the Lord will add souls to his church through this exercise. 

The school plan to start a new semester on January 7, 2023.

Summary                    

Bear Valley Bible Institute International, Benin City centre commenced lectures on October 8, 2022, and successfully concluded the semester on December 24, 2022.

Appreciation

We thank God almighty for giving us this privilege to have a preachers’ training school of international standard. Our gratitude also goes to the management of Bear Valley Bible Institute International for their show of love and care. We thank Brother Kasarjian for his leadership style. He is a good leader. We assure you that all resources are being managed prudently to the glory of God.

Successful campaign in Nigeria

Report Of Bear Valley Bible Institute Weekend School, Ondo State October to December 2022.

What a glorious and eventful year in 2022 for the School here in Ondo State. We blessed God for His grace upon all the Instructors and students for their resilience, and love to teach, and study God's Word with the School. We are thankful to God for His safety, protection, and divine intervention throughout the 2022 academic session, Glory, honor, and Majesty to our God in heaven above, Amen. We are grateful to God for the vision, love, Sacrifice, and support that was given by Bear Valley Bible, Institute, Denver, Colorado, USA. We also extend our gracious thanks to the Church at Bear Valley Church, particularly the Eldership for their resourcefulness. Thank you, All.

Evangelism Report: From October to December 2022, the School embarked on evangelistic activities in the two centers in Ondo State. First, in the Ondo City center, we carried out evangelistic work in the Igba area of Ondo City in October and November 2022. At Ondo center, we were able to baptize a denominational pastor. We are working on him and his Church. Personally, l was invited to speak at Bear Valley Bible Institute, Ikorodu center, Lagos State, and Ekiti State in October and December 2022 respectively. As a school, we did house-to-house on two occasions with Open-air preaching on November, 18-20, 2022. It was three days of open-air preaching and mass evangelism in the Igba area including an area called Federal housing Estate, Igba, Ondo city. We are planning to commence worship as the Church fully in 2023 because three Christian families were living in this area already. We need your prayers!

In the Akure center, the students and the instructors were fully involved in evangelistic activities in Alade at Idanre. I am happy to inform you that we were able to establish the Church with the help of Leo Church of Christ at Alade town in Idanre local government area of Ondo State. The Leo Church with the help of a family was able to construct a meeting place for worship there! This is good news! In the year 2022, we were able (both instructors and students from the two centers) with the help of God to have baptized 40 new members to the glory of God!

Classroom activities: from October to December 2022, we had 4 courses altogether. In the Ondo center, brother Philemon taught "Prison Epistles" in October, while in the Akure center, brother Akilapa taught "Christian Evidence". In November 2022, brother Akilapa came to the Ondo center to teach "Christian Evidence", while brother Philemon Ohaebuka goes to the Akure center to teach "Prison Epistles". In December 2022, brother Victor Fasonu taught "Leadership" as a course at Ondo Center, while brother Damilola Oke taught "New Testament Church" at Akure center. We are thankful for His grace so far.

Brother Joseph Oluwabamiwo is one of the older students in the Ondo study center. He is around 65 years old. He is well behaved elderly brother among the students. He is ready to learn in the classroom. He is very gentle and polite in all things. All the instructors love him. He is willing to gain more knowledge to work closely with the preacher in his local church where he worships God. We are grateful to God to have him in the school.

Financial report: from October to December 2020, we received support from the school. Thank you, Bear Valley sponsors for your love and support! We appreciate your leadership.

Miscellaneous: we are grateful for the help received from the Bear Valley Bible Institute, Denver for standing by us for the growth and development of the School in Ondo State.

We are grateful to God for helping us to end the 2022 academic year in peace and the joy of the Lord! As a school in Ondo State, we are very focused and determined to continue to maintain Bible standards for the School.

Fasonu Victor, Coordinator,

Bear Valley Bible Institute, Ondo State

More courses taught in Ghana

BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE, ASH TOWN – KASOA, GHANA

FOURTH QUARTER REPORT, 2022

Introduction

May our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’s peace protect us now and always. From the beginning of this year, 2022, til present, Our Lord has been compassionate to us. We are very appreciative of him, as well as the entire Bear Valley School leadership team and brotherhood, for their unwavering support of the school in a variety of ways.

Classroom Activities

Three courses were taught this quarter. Godhead was covered by Wisdom Kwasi Yirenkyi, Emmanuel Yaw Amoo-Gyimah handled Homiletics 2 and Emmanuel Larbi taught the Life of Christ 1(Matthew). There were fourteen (14) students present in the aforesaid classes. During this time, there were discussions, presentations, quizzes, assignments and examinations.

Admission of New student

This quarter saw the admission of one new student.

Evangelism

On October 15, 2022, students embarked on door-to-door evangelism in the neighborhood. The exercise was taken part in by eleven (11) students. On Sundays, students went out on evangelism at the location of their practical training.

Provision of resources

The Coordinator, Mr. Kojo Acquah Beenyi, has sent us commentaries on the Life of Christ by David L. Roper. We are grateful to Bear Valley for providing us with this book, which will enable us to carry out this program.

Student profile

This quarter’s student profile is Isaac Yankson. He is 43 years old and was baptized in 2000. He has three wonderful daughters and is married. He works as a driver and carpenter. When believers of the Lord gather on Sundays, he teaches, leads songs, and exhorts. He added the following remarks regarding Bear Valley: “since moving to Bear Valley, I have earned the confidence to stand in front of a huge crowd and teach and exhort. Additionally, I have acquired more methods on how to do personal work. Bear Valley deserves my gratitude for providing me with this chance.”

Practical training

During this quarter, students began their practical training at the various congregations that were assigned to them.

On December 11, 2022, the Director visited Akweley Newtown Church of Christ, which is located in Kasoa, where three students were tasked with helping the congregation. The students were Brother Isaac Arthur, Brother Anthony Kwesi Eshun and Sister Janet Addae Arthur. On that steadfast day, Sister Janet taught the children’s class, Brother Anthony taught the Bible class and Brother Isaac exhorts the congregation. Their strengths and weaknesses were addressed with them after worship in order to improve their presentational abilities. The leadership was questioned by Brother Larbi regarding the aforementioned students and contributions to the church. The feedback from the leadership was positive.

Overall, the practical training was successful. Since they had the opportunity to interact with brotherhood congregations, the students were thrilled about it. In the upcoming years, they anticipate seeing more of this.

Conclusion

We appreciate all the help we have received from Brother Steven, Keith, the Brotherhood and the school authorities, including the regular operating funds, prayers, instructions and development of our faith in the Lord.

We also appreciate the contributions made by our instructors, the director and the coordinator to the success of the school’s development. We want to hear from you all in 2023.

Reported by

Larbi

Souls saved in Nairobi

NAIROBI SCHOOL OF PREACHING UPDATE

We great you all in the mighty name of God, Amen. We give thanks to God for this wonderful opportunity and give thanks for your continual support in the kingdom. BVBI Nairobi continues to be a part time school with total of 9 students. 

We are so thankful for the work that’s going on in the villages surrounding the school and within Nairobi by students and faculty who take part in monthly evangelism work and help in doing rotational preaching in this congregations. There has been also internal mission work seminars done by both students and faculty.  We are in our 2nd year 3rd quarter just concluded with Old Testament Minor Prophets.

 The School has just closed for the holidays and we will resume on 7th Jan 2023 God willing We also appreciate for the E-LIBRARY that’s making work easier for the trainers and students too, it has been a great tool to the entire institution.

BAPTISMS

As we are commanded in the book of mark 16:15-16 to GO in the world, there has been a total of 43 baptisms that resulted to the birth of two congregations, 7 restored souls and 1 restored congregation 

✓ Kimunye church of Christ   [new]

✓ Thika church of Christ     [new]             

✓Brookside church of Christ [restored]

PRAYER REQUESTS

We request for prayers to our students, faculty and all Christians during this period and especially when schools are yet to be opened on January. We also request prayers for evangelism work and ability to send brothers/students to help ministering to this newly started congregations to grow in numbers and spiritually. 

Conclusion

We thank you very much for your physical and financial support in enabling BVBI [NSOP] achieve what’s written in 2Tim 2:2 

Kennedy Munubi Kenne

Samson Omutele 

Still serving God in Ukraine

Dear brethren and congregations,

I am  very grateful to the Lord for all your fervent prayers and aid that you've been providing for Ukraine. Many of you know that we fight for our freedom in all aspects. There's no secret that Russia wants to destroy everything about our culture, morals and religion. This winter will be the most terrifying for all parts of our country. We lack electricity, mobile and internet connection, water and heat. The pressure of the problems increases daily. For instance, in the beginning of November we would not have electricity for 5-6 hours a day, but these days we only have it for 4-5 hours. It does not give us enough time to charge our phones and place calls. The occupants keep destroying our civil infrastructure by missiles and deprive us of the basic human necessities. However, the church continues to congregate and help people. Our Bible Institute is in session. The Gospel is being preached without ceasing. It gives us joy and hope for the future.

The Bible Institute and our students.

In November and December our students had 1 and 2nd Corinthians (Instructor Dmitry Galyuk) and Denominational Doctrines (Instructor Dennis Sopelnik).   Also in November we had Terry Harmon for a few days. He led the worship and encouraged many of our number. In the end of December going into the beginning of January our students will have a few weeks of winter  break. The office place where we have classes has heat which is very irregular. By God's providence the office building is connected by the power lines to the military hospital and it almost always gives us electricity, water and heating. If the situation doesn't worsen next year we will be relocating back to the Bila Tserkva.

Bela Tserkva Church of Christ.

Every Sunday we keep helping our refugees with the grocery care bags. It's a big help for the local community. The government doesn't have enough funds to supply the needy with everything necessary and the huge load is shared by the humanitarian aid relief organizations as well as churches. During the last Sunday gathering about 20 people got food and heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  So many are presented  with the opportunity to become members of the Lord's family.

We are grateful for all your prayers and support. Nobody could imagine that the country in the middle of Europe would struggle with electrical supplies,  Internet connection and heating during the coldest part of the year and beg God to let the next missile land elsewhere, not on your house.

May God keep each of you safe. Count every blessing and don't take for granted everything we have daily.

Your brother and coworker in the Lord's vineyard,

Dennis Sopelnik

A great year in Port Harcourt

END OF THE YEAR 2022 PROGRESS OF BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE RIVERS STATE NIGERIA, WEST AFRICA

For the two centers of Bear Valley Bible Institute in Rivers State Nigeria, the year 2022 was a great year. Our lectures and evangelism outreaches were carried out successfully from January to December. As at the time of this report which is December, 2022 we had a total of 53 active students at our two centers. We are preparing to graduate our first set of 36 students at the 2nd quarter of 2023.

STUDY OF TWO COURSES PER MONTH BEGAN IN JANUARY 2022 AND CONTINUED TILL DECEMBER 2022

We are happy to report that we started the study of two courses per month from January 2022 and we did not stop till December 2022. We covered 24 courses in 2022 alone and with the new scheme; we can graduate our students in two years, instead of the 4 year scheme. We therefore, thank the International Management of Bear Valley Bible Institute for the approval of the upgrade.

OCTOBER 2022 FLOOD DISASTER IN NIGERIA AFFECTED MANY OF OUR STUDENTS IN AHOADA CENTER

It is important to report that many of our students were victims of the serious flood disaster that happened in Nigeria in October which lasted till the end of November, 2022. At the peak of the flood, our students who were victims of the flood, left their homes and took shelter at church halls and public halls. However, within the period of the flood we did not stop our weekend lectures. Our lectures were going on and our students were coming from various quarters where they were taking shelter.

Nevertheless, the flood made us to cancel the proposed four field discipleship training planned for our students and members of churches of Christ in the vicinity. As at the time of this report, the victims of the flood are still suffering. We are appealing for support from concerned brethren in Christ to help the victims of the flood to resettle.

LAST QUARTER OF THE YEAR 2022 EVANGELISM - OUTREACH

Students of Bear Valley Bible Institute in Rivers state Nigeria are very much active in evangelism in the state and beyond.

 On Saturday 29th October, 2022, the students and teachers at Port Harcourt Center went out for evangelism at Nwogu Street, D – line, Port Harcourt. The students went to the streets and houses in the neighborhood and shared the gospel of Christ to the people. At the end, two persons were baptized and a Christian who was living there without knowing where to worship was discovered and brought to the church   meeting place. We hope that some other prospects will be baptized as the follow up is ongoing.

In conclusion, the year 2022 was a great year for Bear Valley Bible Institute in Rivers State Nigeria. We thank our sponsors and everyone who contributed to our success. We hope to achieve more in the New Year ahead.

Report from:

Anthony E. Oluria (Director of studies)

Sierra Leone schools organize evangelism teams

Bear Valley Bible Institute Sierra Leone

ACTIVITY OPERATION REPORT FOR NOVEMBER, 2022

Full-Time and the Extended Programs

 INTRODUCTION                     

We are delighted again as the family of the Kenema Bear Valley Bible Institute, Sierra Leone to come your way with our November report, our dearly beloved brethren. We are hopeful that God has been taking care of you all, just as He has been doing for us here. This is another opportunity we have to share with you our exciting and successful October report. In November, our full-time program resumed its classes. Brother Steve Ashcraft held a meeting with our proposed evangelistic team leaders and ten souls were converted and four brethren were restored to their usefulness before the Lord. For more details on the above activities, please we encourage you to keep on reading. 

RESUMPTION OF CLASSES (Full-Time Program)

In our October report, we informed you that our 19 full-time students completed their first-year session and were going on a month's break to resume on November 19. Through God’s providence, all of them resumed and joined the extended students to continue steadfastly with all the activities of the school, be it academic or evangelistic. We thank you all for your prayers and your financial aid brethren. 

CONVERSION OF SOULS THROUGH ALUMNI EFFORTS AND THE SCHOOL’S WEEKEND EVANGELISM ACTIVITY

The task of saving souls is a task that is not limited to only an individual; it is every Christian’s duty. It is on this note that we want to commend our graduates over the years who are actively involved in the ministry work in their various communities. Just as we informed you in our previous reports, our graduates are constantly in touch with us and we visit them to see the work they are doing. Not only that, they send us reports from time to time which we put together to share with you. Therefore, for the past November, their evangelistic efforts resulted in 7 souls, coupled with the school’s weekend evangelistic program that resulted in 3 conversions and 4 restorations. So in brief, 10 souls were converted and 4 brethren were restored in November. Please we plead with you to continue to pray for these new babies in Christ. 

BROTHER STEVE’S MEETING WITH THE EVANGELISTIC TEAM LEADERS

We continue to be very thankful to God for having a brother like Steve in the church. His love for the dying sinners and the lost souls is worth commending. For some months he has been sharing the vision he has with us; this vision is to maximize our efforts in converting more souls, establishing and sustaining more congregations, and strengthening more congregations that are on the verge of dying as a result of many factors, etc. Since it is for this reason that we are also involved in the work of the ministry, we quickly embraced his vision, and we quickly put the vision into action. We began to organize evangelistic teams in various places in Sierra Leone. It was the leaders of those various teams that Steve had a meeting with at the Bear Valley campus on November 2. The meeting was a very successful one especially as all the attendees were very grateful to Steve and every Christian that is supporting the work of God in Sierra Leone. It was echoed during the meeting that many successes will be recorded with the efforts of these teams in 2023 by the special grace of God. During the meeting, we had representatives from Freetown, Bo, Kono, Kenema, Kailahun, and Koindu.  

CONCLUSION

In every aspect, we are very grateful to God for making us useful in His vineyard. Moreover, we continue to appreciate you and pray also for you daily, our dearly beloved brethren. Till we meet again in December, Lord willing, may you remain blessed in the Lord.

Warri, Nigeria students baptize four during their campaign

REPORT OF THE BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE – WARRI CENTERS 

OCTOBER –DECEMBER 2022.

INTRODUCTION

We are, indeed, thankful to God Almighty for another successful year. Watching the year draw to a close shows us how mindful God has been in our affairs. We have recorded no deaths of any student in our centers, instead, about three students got married and we are thankful. We are also grateful for the resuscitation of interest in the growth of the churches of Christ in Nigeria via the Bear Valley Study Centers. The Bear Valley Family is growing and her impact is felt in the most remote part of this country. To this end, the Bear Valley Family Warri Center expresses her profound gratitude to God almighty and to the entire crew of the Bear Valley family in Denver, United States.

 ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES

Academic activities have been in top gear at the DSC center. Godwin Ojocheogwu taught the class on Church Planting-Mission 1 in October 2022. It was an eye-opening experience for the students especially on why new churches should be founded and the way to go about it. In November 2022, Abiola Vincent discussed the Book of James. In December, Solomon Usim is presently discussing Bible Geography. The students at the DSC Center are in high spirits as they navigate through the Bible lands creating mental pictures and grasping bible descriptions of places. We are delighted!  

 PTI CENTER

The PTI Center is also doing very well. In October 2022, Solomon Usim discussed the course on Personal Evangelism. The course helped the students in developing skills on how to better their personal evangelism and congregational growth.  In November, Godwin Ojocheogwu taught the Book of James. Also, this December, Meredith Ovwromoh is teaching Old Testament II, the Book of Job. To this end, we can say that we are doing good.

CAMPAIGN PROGRAM

On the 16th of November 2022, one of the Bear Valley students, Justice Memeh, preaching for the church of Christ Igbogidi Orhuwhorun, Udu LGA of Delta State, invited the students for a one-day door-to-door evangelism in conjunction with the Gospel Chariot. The students came out in their numbers and evangelized the Igbogidi community. At the end of the evangelism program, a total of four (4) baptisms were had. Furthermore, on Saturday, the 19th of November 2022, the students gathered on the invitation of bro Brown Oyoyo (Bear Valley Student), the preacher of the church of Christ Ojikpata, Orhuwhorun, Udu LGA of Delta State. Until the time of this report no baptisms yet.

CHALLENGES

The challenges are more or less normal. There cannot be any positive endeavor without its challenges. The harsh economic climate in Nigeria is affecting all facets of life. The dwindling state of the Naira and the high rate of the dollar and other hard currencies has made life almost unbearable for Nigerians. As a result of the increase in Fuel pump prices, transportation for students has become more difficult than ever.  Some students coming from afar find it difficult to keep up with classes. Moreover, we had about three marriages this year and two pregnant mothers. These ones have temporarily put a stop to their studies but hope to resume as soon as the coast is clear.

CONCLUSION

This year has seen a beehive of activities and renewed zeal in areas of evangelism and a rich curriculum for preachers and congregations. We thank the Bear Valley Family for this renewed interest. We are also grateful, not just for the curriculum support, but for supporting the teachers financially. This has helped some of the teachers/preachers to augment the support they get from the church, which mostly amounts to nothing. The reawakening of interest created by the Bear Valley schools has created interconnectivity among preachers and churches. Thus, we can safely conclude that the efforts of the school cannot be quantified. It's simply huge!

Tamale students conduct their final campaign before graduation

BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE, TAMALE - GHANA

NOVEMBER 2022 OPERATING REPORT 

We had some great successes in the month of November, 2022 at the Bear Valley Institute of Biblical Studies in Tamale. These successes were both within and outside of campus. We hereby wish to report them.

LECTURSHIP

We had a visiting instructor from our sister school in Accra (Southern Institute of Biblical Studies) to teach the last course of the 2021/2022 batch of students in the person of Yaw Amoo Gyimah. He taught Church History and it was our joy to host him.  

KPALSI SOUTH CONGREGATION

The local Church in Kpalsi South took a step further in appointing some brethren to serve in some committees to help the preacher in steering the affairs of the church. We had some committees like; The Evangelism Committee, Benevolence Committee, Administrative Committee and the Finance Committee. It is our desire to hold fast to the doctrines of Christ and to work collectively to grow the church. We are positive of the future of this congregation, and will do all we can to protect and defend the doctrines of Christ. It is our desire to create room for all persons, especially men who are faithful to serve the Lord in accordance with scriptures. Room is also made to continuously include students who are capable in these committees to also serve as a learning process for them. We were privileged to have the director of the school in the person of Brother Daniel Adjei Mensah to give us a wonderful sermon. We give God the glory.

CAMPAIGN AND EVANGELISM

In the month of November 2022, the school embarked on an evangelistic campaign to the Upper West Region, specifically, Kogri under the Lawra municipality. This was the last evangelistic exercise done by the 2021/2022 batch of students as part of their course requirements. It was a wonderful and successful journey. We were privileged to have Brother Thomas Donzie of the Jirapa congregation with us.

 We embarked on this journey between the 7th and the 14th of November, 2022. All eight students, in addition with some past students, were part of this journey. The director of the school was also involved in this evangelistic journey. 

We left Tamale on the 7th of November, around the hours of 8am in the morning. We arrived at Kogri around 11:46pm on the night of the 7th, almost into the following day. 

We began our work on the 8th of November, 2022. We divided ourselves into groups and went out on our door-to-door evangelism. In the evening, public preaching was done to complement the door-to-door evangelism. The people were very receptive and welcoming. The community is dominated by idolatry, Islam and Roman Catholics. 

The good news was that the chief of the community, who is a very elderly man, is a member of the church. It was his joy hosting us in his community to give strength to the church. He supported us with a goat, a fowl and an amount of Gh₵20.00 cash as a sign of his appreciation and joy of our presence there. He also made announcements to the community to create an awareness of our presence. This made the work a bit easier for us.

From the 7th to the 13th of November, we had the door-to-door evangelism during the day and public preaching in the evenings. The men who did the public preaching were; Thomas Donzie, Baaba Elija, Emmanuel Balefam, Daniel Adjei Mensah and James Bisong Legend. The event was very fruitful. On the 14th of November, which was the first day of the week, we worshiped with the church. Brother James Legend did the Sunday School Adults Bible Class, while Brother Abraham gave the sermon. We recorded an attendance of 97 people in total. 

After the worship, we met with some of the men who were capable of leading in the church to encourage them as well as give them some guidance on how to help the congregation to stand. We also told them the need for those who have the desire to preach to attend the Bible School. Brother Samuel Saakuu Baaro, who is a past student of BVBI Tamale campus, is the one overseeing the running of the church along with Brother Alfred and Tuokyen who are all past students of BVBI. 

At the end of the one week evangelistic campaign, 16 new souls were added to the church, and 8 souls were restored. We thank the Lord and the sponsors who made this journey possible.

VISITATION, RECRUITMENT AND INTERVIEWS

Brother James Bisong Legend in the month of November embarked on a two days visitation journey to the Yendi Bimbila road in an effort to strengthen some congregations and to also recruit students. He took advantage to worship with the Duuni congregation on the 20th of November, where Brother Francis Waajah, a graduate of BVBI Tamale serves as a preacher. The church was very happy with his presence.

We have also started interviewing potential students for the next academic year as the 2021/2022 batch of students is done with their course. We are hoping to improve on many things as we move forward as an institution.  

ANNUAL WOMEN SEMINAR

The Northern Women annual seminar that brings together women across the breadth and length of Northern Ghana this year took place in the premises of the Bear Valley Campus in Tamale. The Kpalsi South church building was used for the event. It brought together a number of women from different congregations across the North. It was a success as they lectured themselves on marriage and the home and other relevant topics. The event ended with a joint worship service that brought together all the congregations in Tamale Township. 

God be glorified for all these successes. 

Thank you sir,

Bear Valley, Tamale.  

Luanshya staff and students conduct gospel meetings and a wedding

November, 2022 Report

Introduction

Once again Bear Valley Bible Institute Zambia’s (BVBIZ) goal to advance the kingdom of God throughout Zambia and Africa at large was realized in the month of October when we just graduated eleven men.

The Planting Season 

The rainy season has just started a few weeks ago in the month of November.  The meteorological department of Zambia has forecasted that the nation will experience normal to above-normal rainfall this season.  Hence, farmers are very busy cultivating and planting their seeds. The school thought it wise to push forward the start of the new intake to the first week of January 2023. This is to allow our new students to cultivate and plant their fields. 

New Intake (2023)

We are expecting five married men and nine unmarried men to begin class in January 2023. The new intake will represent about seven Provinces of Zambia. We will have for the first time one student from the town of Zambezi in the North-Western Province of Zambia.  This town borders the country of Angola. We understand that the church is still at its infant stage in Angola probably due to the prolonged civil war the country experienced. The scarcity of the church in neighboring Angola makes the area a very ripe field to work for our graduates. Three men from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have so far expressed interest to come and be part of the 2023 class. All three are from the town of Kolwezi in DRC. The information is still inadequate concerning the growth of the church in the entire country of DRC, but whatever we know about it leaves much to be desired. We are hopeful that there will be a positive change (minimal as it might be) once the prospective students from there graduate and go back to work in their own country. 

Evangelism After Graduation (2022)

BVBI-Zambia organized evangelism in Luanshya District three days after our 3rd graduation day on 22nd October 2022. All our graduates were allowed to preach in the congregations we had worked with during their two years time of training here in Luanshya and the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. This was so because on their graduation day we received a good number of members of the Lord’s Church from within Luanshya and a good representation from the Copperbelt churches of Christ. They gave our students gifts to thank them for their participation in the work of God during their time of training.

We as administration at BVBIZ were very much impressed with the obvious amount of work and dedication expressed by our students.  We have received good reports from congregations were we did not reach but managed to send our students to do the work there.

When Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:9 that we are special people he also says “that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Paul in 2 Timothy 3:17, after saying that all scripture is inspired, gives the reason for its purpose: “that the saints of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” We are playing our part until we all attain the unity of faith.

Baptisms 

It was a real joy to witness the birth of Mailes Sekelani, Fridah Chisenga, Lumbu Kapamba, Mirriam Chimowa, Emmaness Namwanda, Ruth Masonga, Memory Mulubwa, Moreen Kaunda, Chinyanta Mumba who were baptized in the month of November. We also recorded two baptisms from Southern Province where Daniel Kapata is preaching and one in Northern Province where Reuben Museka is preaching. Simon Nkhazi baptized the woman he has betrothed for marriage, his fiancé (the two intend to marry next year). It was a good sight to see a preacher baptizing his wife-to-be. We are proud of our students who are working so diligently for the Lord! 

Restorations 

We have also recorded thirteen souls restored in the sheepfold in the Chingola District of the Copperbelt Province and three other in Mtendere of Lusaka where Simon Nkhazi is preaching. Nicholus Mulubwa updated us with six restorations in Samfya District where he is preaching. We have recorded a total of twenty-two restorations in the month of November. We give God the Glory for this!! 

Marriage Blessings! 

Our Institute has continued to be a center of blessings of marriages. As we conclude the year 2022, we witnessed once again a blessing of Mwaka Musonda and Carren Chilufya into holy matrimony held on 3rd December 2022. The marriage blessing ceremony was conducted and officiated by Brother Cephas Mwamba. 

Mwaka Musonda (the groom) a resident of Kalulushi where his parents stay, married Carren Chilufya (Bride) whose parents stay in Luanshya District.  So we had the church in Luanshya and Kalulushi come together for this wedding. Kalulushi is 143 kilometers west of Luanshya District. This blessing was witnessed by many Christians on the Copperbelt. We continue to thank God for the recognition our Institute is enjoying here in Zambia. We anticipate a lot of good things to happen as we labor in the vineyard of our master.

Conclusion

Thank you all of you for the partnership! And please continue to pray for the overall work that we are involved in here in Zambia. Pray for wisdom, support, and perseverance and for the Word of God to continuously have an impact on our lives and also the lives of those we are teaching.

We will likewise pray that God will bless the works that you all are involved in as well.

In His Service,

Cephas and Fred 

Ghana students baptize 20 souls

WEST COAST SCHOOL OF PREACHING OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR NOVEMBER, 2022

CLASSROOM WORK

The end of the two years academic journey is almost upon us. Our full-time students are left with about a month to complete all the courses required of them to be awarded a diploma in Biblical studies. Serious academic work is still ongoing in the month of November. 

Joshua Aidoo and Douglas Armah were the instructors who taught the part-time students in November. The courses taught were Homiletics, Hermeneutics, and Preacher & His work.

PERSONAL EVANGELISM AND BAPTISM

Evangelizing the world still remains a command we are very happy to obey. There have been numerous evangelism programs by our students in November. Some of our past students together with some churches went to spread the gospel in a town called Banso (located in the western Region). God blessed their effort with eight (8) baptisms and a good number of brethren were restored. 

Another group also headed to a village called Kadadwen to restore the church there, of which some of the members were restored and two new souls baptized. 

The school’s campaign for Christ took place from 21st – 26th November. It was organized at Mpintin where Joshua Aidoo is the preacher. About twenty (20) of our past students were invited to participate in the house-to-house evangelism. The campaign for Christ was very successful as twelve (12) souls were won for Christ. In short, the Lord rewarded our efforts in the month of November with twenty (20) precious souls.

Gweru, Zimbabwe school trains their students to be self-sufficient

                                                                NOVEMBER 2022 NARRATIVE REPORT

INTRODUCTION

We remain grateful to God for what the school was able to do in the month. Classes progressed well without much of a challenge. Evangelism and projects continued as well. These and more are covered hereunder.

CURRICULUM PROGRESS  

The following subjects are being done this term; Prison Epistles, Hermeneutics, Sign Language, Music, Galatians, Christian Evidence, Horticulture, Homiletics, Books of History, Acts, and 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Most of the subjects were completed successfully. Great appreciation for the teachers and students for the effort put in.  

EVANGELISM

Evangelism efforts usually reach a climax through our annual field practice. This field program ended in October with the graduation of the previous class. The current class which is in its second term will begin its evangelism efforts next term through weekend evangelism. Currently, however, the class is servicing 3 congregations namely; Lot 64, Shurugwi, and Plasworth. Congregations that wish to benefit from this program have an opportunity to be served as well. 

PROJECTS AND FOOD SECURITY

The school is running the following projects; goat project, layers project, broilers project, and market gardening. This month we report on the maize project and market gardening. 

MAIZE AND BEANS

The school was able to plant a hectare of maize when the first rains fell in November. We had targeted to plant 2-3 hectares but funds to purchase inputs had been elusive. Our harvests in the past two seasons had not enabled the school to buy maize. The school had enough for its kitchen needs whilst some ended up being used for the poultry project without much of a challenge. We also hope to plant about 2 acres of beans in January.

SWEET POTATOES

Sweet potatoes were also planted in the month. Planting of this crop will continue as there are no costs involved. Depending with the harvest, If there will be more, the excess can be sold. 

MARKET GARDENING

Progress continued to be made in our horticulture projects. Tomatoes, cabbages, onions, and lettuce were sold in the month. Tomatoes could not fetch much as the market was flooded with them. Besides benefitting extra income from the sales and food for the students, the students are also learning life survival skills. 

Towards the end of November, more tomatoes, cucumbers, and butternuts were planted. 

WHERE ARE THEY?

In the next few months, we shall be tracing the whereabouts of our graduates. This month we begin with Takudzwa Chikuni who began his studies with the school in 2018 and completed his course in 2020. Takudzwa went on to graduate in October 2021. He enrolled as one of the youngest students the school ever had. His zeal for the work is contagious and unquestionable. He is both a powerful speaker and song leader. Soon after leaving school and prior to his graduation, during the Covid era, he went to his home area of Maware in Chivhu where he became a full-time preacher for the congregation. He was working under the late Abednego Mugweni. During this time he was being partly supported by Dr. Campion Mugweni whilst at the same time getting income from gardening and having a small grocery shop at the Maware business center. 

Takudzwa transferred to Sharara church of Christ, a rural congregation, in January 2022 and got married to his wife Tanatswa Tania Muromba in March 2022. He went to Sharara to replace another seasoned preacher Damson Siwedi who had moved to Mupudzi Church of Christ some months before. Takudzwa and his wife are happily working together for Christ. Apart from preaching the gospel in the Sharara area, he teaches Family and Religious studies at Sharara Secondary school. In terms of life survival skills, Takudzwa has continued with his garden project, runs a small grocery shop for the community, and has added a road runner (free range) chicken project to the mix. This summer season, he and his wife have already planted one hectare of maize for their sustainability. Soon after joining the Sharara Church of Christ, Takudzwa mobilized resources from the brotherhood in an attempt to extend the church building. This has been a success. Besides this, he has been able to run several programs including a lectureship for the congregation. The young man is blooming in a rural setting and the work is growing. The congregation has an average attendance of 150 people.

 CONCLUSION

When all is said and done, we continue to thank God for what he continues to do through BVBIZ and through your support financially, morally, and spiritually. We continue to see progress in the students, the graduates, and the fulfillment of the curriculum requirements. Thank you all and may God continue to bless you abundantly.

Accra school conducts funeral for former student

END OF November Report, 2022

To God once again be the glory and honor for a successful end of the month. Below is a summary of school activities in the month of November

Academic Activities

Two short courses have been completed by the brothers Amoo Gyimah and Gyan Mante. Brother Jerry Bates also held a master's class that lasted two weeks. We are very thankful to God for his safe arrival and departure.

School Building 

Workers on the school building project have commenced and have progressed to lintel when Bro Kojo Acquah and Sammy visited. The work is hoped to continue till the end of the year.

Campaign for Christ

Students organized a gospel campaign that involved public preaching evangelism. This came off successfully as I reported in my previous report for October.

 Funeral Ceremony

The funeral ceremony of the late brother and former students Adams Quashie was successfully held on 19th November. Our students and staff were present and a donation was given to the children for their relief. We hope to meet our brother again in Heaven.

Acknowledgment

We give much glory to God for a successful month and term. We also express our gratitude to the management of the Bear Valley Bible Institute USA for their support both physically and spiritually. We glorify God because of the efforts of all the members of the staff and implore many blessings from God on them.

These are updates for the month. We request that you keep praying with us.

 Reported by: E.O. Larbi